Series debut
If the mystery part of this novel hadn’t meandered a bit as it headed in for the finish it would have been the absolutely perfect summer read. The rest of the book, though, is so utterly charming, that’s really a nitpick. This is the first adult novel for author Bryant, who up until now has written YA romance, and she seems to be embracing adulting in her first outing. Her heroine, Mavis Miller, is a single mom who lives with her Dad and is late getting her adorable daughter Pearl to school just about every day in the rush of getting ready for work, making Pearl’s lunch, letting the dog out, etc.
But make it they do, and Mavis is usually left chatting with the other parents who aren’t so on it, and it flashed me back to my own kids’ elementary school days when the worst part of raising kids was – other parents, especially the perfectly organized PTA ones. This came back to me in a rush as Mavis is buttonholed by the PTA president who asks her to head up the school’s DEI committee. Mavis is certain she’s been selected because she’s one of only two black moms at the school (the other, her friend Jasmine, is a high powered doctor, who is far to smart to be ensnared by the PTA).
This book is really funny and the characters are wonderful. Mavis meets another mom, Corinne, at her first PTA meeting and the two share a bond of snark as they observe the proceedings. Everything goes wrong that night as the new school principal disappears and Mavis, out walking the dog, sees the PTA prez up to what looks like absolutely no good with a van, rubber gloves, giant trash bags, and booties in the school parking lot. It freaks her out completely.
The next day the school is abuzz with the principal’s disappearance. Mavis cements a friendship begun with the hunky school psychologist in the parking lot the day before. When the principal’s wife offers a reward for any information leading to his return, Mavis and the psychologist decide to team up to see if they can earn it. There’s much more going on between them though, and as they clumsily check alibis together they also become closer to each other.
There’s a lot going on in this book, and much of it involves Mavis’ life careening out of control as she feels she’s letting Pearl down and not being a good enough mother; as she misses a promotion at work, to her intense frustration; and as she and Jack, the psychologist, chase down leads in the principal’s disappearance and possible murder. The solution when it comes is quite witty, but much as I really liked Mavis, I often prefer a main character who’s the calm center that all the chaos of the story envelops, not the chaos agent. That’s a personal preference, however, not really a critique, though I did worry for Mavis as she perseveres through her pretty exhausting sounding life.
What was a true treasure was simply Mavis’ point of view. I read many, many cozy mysteries and I love them, but it’s wonderful to see some diversity and youth being brought to these books, not just here, by Bryant, but by other talented cozy writers like Danielle Arceneaux, Gigi Pandian, V.M. Burns, Mia P. Manansala, and Frank Anthony Polito. The cozy genre needs a shake up and these are the writers that are doing it – in an oh so friendly cozy way. The different perspective offered, in my opinion, provides even more snap and sparkle to a well told tale. I hope this novel is the first in a series. Best of all, I was laughing to myself at the gym as I read it. — Robin Agnew